In no particular order, here are MediaNama’s top 10 stories of the week ended 2nd February 2020
MediaNama would like to thank its sponsors: E2E, for their support.
Break end-to-end encryption to trace child porn distributors, make ISPs liable: Recommendations from Rajya Sabha Committee
To curb online child sexual abuse material (CSAM), an ad hoc Rajya Sabha Committee has recommended that law enforcement agencies be permitted to break end-to-end encryption to trace abusers, and that internet service providers give parents family-friendly filters. Read it here
2G mobile internet for accessing 301 whitelisted websites restored in Jammu and Kashmir
2G mobile internet for accessing 301 whitelisted websites, and mobile phone services, was restored in Jammu and Kashmir on January 26, news agency PTI reported. 2G mobile internet services were restored around 9 pm, while mobile services were restored at 4 pm, the report said. Read it here
Even the 301 whitelisted sites in Jammu and Kashmir are not entirely accessible: An analysis
The Supreme Court gave a judgement on January 10, 2020 directing the Central government to review the total suspension of Internet services in Jammu and Kashmir imposed since August 5, 2019 and to restore essential services. Read it here
India’s NCRB extends deadline to submit bids for Automated Facial Recognition System
India’s National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) has extended the deadline to submit bids for the Automated Facial Recognition System (AFRS) to March 27, 2020, due to “administrative reasons.” The bids would be opened on March 30. Read it here
A Complete Guide to the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019
India is on course to getting a Personal Data Protection Act, which will impact how businesses collect data about users, and the rights that users have over the data that is collected about them. Read it here
Amazon’s Ring sharing users’ personal data with Facebook, Google-owned company and others: EFF
Amazon-owned Ring, a maker of home security cameras, has a number of third-party trackers on its Android app, which allows it to share users’ personally identifiable information (PII) to companies such as Facebook, and Google-owned Crashlytics, an investigation done by advocacy group Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) found out. Read it here
Russia blocks access to Swiss encrypted email service ProtonMail
Russia blocked access to ProtonMail, an end-to-end encrypted email service, on January 29, claiming that it was used to send false threats about bombing 830 locations, including schools, hospitals, and shopping centres. Read it here
Mastercard net income up 134% YoY in Q4 2019
Mastercard’s net revenue grew by 16% YoY to $4.4 billion, while net income grew to 134% to $2.1 billion in Q4 2019. The company’s gross dollar volume increased 12% YY, and cross-border volume increased 16%. In India, MasterCard signed a co-brand deal with Vistara Airlines, and renewed debit deals with HDFC Bank and SBI. Read it here
Internet shutdown in Jabalpur as ‘precautionary measure’ against anti-CAA protests
Mobile internet services in Jabalpur city in Madhya Pradesh have been suspended as a “precautionary measure” to curb protests against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act, Jabalpur deputy inspector general BS Chouhan told to MediaNama. Read it here
Facebook to pay $550 million to settle facial recognition lawsuit in Illinois
Facebook has agreed to pay $550 million to settle a federal lawsuit which had accused the company of violating an Illinois biometric privacy law by harvesting facial data for its photo-labelling service, Tag Suggestions, without seeking permission from users and without informing them about how long their data would be stored, the New York Times reported. Read it here
